This version of the invention is concerned with the field of devices to attract game animals during hunting. More specifically, this version of the invention is concerned with a device releasably attached to the ankle of a user, such as a hunter while said hunter is hunting, said device containing a quantity of liquid scent for attracting game animals and dispensing smell of said scent to attract game animals to the proximity of the hunter.
Prior Art
During the hunting of game animals, such as deer, various methods and devices are employed to find and attract said animals and to prevent the hunter from being detected by said animals during the hunting of said animal. Attraction devices include whistles, horns, and other apparatuses, which, for example, mimic the calls and bellows of a game animal during mating season. Other devices consist of life-like decoys ranging from a goose to a doe, which are strategically located to attract another similar type of animal. In some cases, scent attractants are spread upon a ground surface or other natural features so that pheromones or other sexually-attracting odors and smells will drift and spread over an area in which game animals are thought to frequent so as to draw said game animals to the area over which the scent attractants are dispensed. Various devices and methods have been used to dispense such scent attractants, including, but not limited to absorbent pads that are located upon a ground surface or attached to a natural feature, such as a tree branch, or an article of clothing, such as beneath the shoe of a hunter. Other devices, such as mechanical systems, are more elaborate in design and construction, generally consisting of a reservoir for storage of a quantity of liquid scent attractant, delivery means for transferring liquid scent attractant from the reservoir to the immediate atmosphere, and actuating means for determining the time to dispense liquid scent attractant, comprising either a timer, motion sensor, or the like.
The aforementioned devices and methods of attracting game animals perform their desired function with varying degrees of success. Absorbent pads attached to a natural feature, such as a tree branch, generally have a limited range over which the scent attractant is dispensed as such pads are stationary. The absorbent pads and other devices that are attached to a hunter are more effective in dispensing scent attractant over a wider geographical area as the scent attractant is dispensed to the area in which the hunter is stalking the game animal. However, many of these devices suffer from particular disadvantages and shortcomings. For example, devices attached to the bottom of a hunter's shoe or boot may become clogged or covered with dirt and debris, which obstruct or otherwise interfere with the ability of said devices to dispense scent attractant stored therein. Other devices are elaborate and cumbersome to use, generally interfering with the ability of the hunter to engage in the sort of physical activity necessary to stalk and hide from game animals. The mechanical devices that dispense scent attractant suffer from several disadvantages. They are generally the most expensive to purchase and maintain, and they are subject to mechanical failure in the field, thus jeopardizing their ability to attract game animals. What is needed then to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of existing devices and methods for attracting game animals is the provision of a device that is relatively inexpensive to purchase and maintain, simple to use, and able to hold a quantity of liquid scent attractant sufficient to dispense scent attractant over a geographical area and for a duration needed to attract game animals for a successful hunting outing.
Discussion of the Prior Art
Numerous designs for devices and methods for attracting game animals through dispensation of animal scent attractant have been provided in the prior art. Even though these designs may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present version of the invention as such designs are limited by the disadvantages and drawbacks recited earlier in this disclosure. These designs are exemplified by the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,899, Hunters And Trappers Scent Pad, issued to DeHart on 1 Dec. 1981;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,715, Detachable Shoe-Lure Dispenser, issued to Reeves on 28 Jul. 1987;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,010, Scent Dispenser For Attachment Under A Shoe, issued to Grinarmi on 5 Apr. 1988;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,563, Environment Enhancement Device For Animal Scent Used By Hunter, issued to Easley on 20 Sep. 1988;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,940, Buck Lure, issued to Christenson, II on 31 Jul. 1990;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,763, Animal Scent Dispensing Apparatus, issued to Kierum et al. on 4 Sep. 1990;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,905, Arrow Delivered Scent Dispersion Apparatus, issued to Edlund on 17 Sep. 2002; and
U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,033, System For Dispensing Animal Scent Attractant, issued to Campesi, Sr. on 13 Jan. 2004;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,683,044, Animal Scent Lure And Delivery System, issued to Arienzo on 27 Jan. 2004; and
U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,286, System, Apparatus, And Methods For Dispensing Scent Blocker And Animal Lure And Marking Trail During Hunting And Other Outdoor Excursions, issued to Baxter et al. on 30 Mar. 2004.
As such, it may be appreciated that there is a continuing need for a new and improved device that dispenses animal scent attractant in order to attract game animals to the vicinity of a hunter. The device for dispensing animal scent attractant that is the subject of the instant invention employs a rectangular, woven or textile body that is releasably attached to the ankle area of a hunter. When said hunter walks along the ground surface to stalk a game animal said body is dragged along said ground surface behind the hunter, dispensing scent attractant from a wick or absorbent pad releasably secured to or within said body. The device is relatively inexpensive to purchase and maintain. Furthermore, the device does not interfere with the physical motion of the hunter while said hunter is stalking or hiding from a game animal, said device delivering scent attractant in quantities sufficient to attract a game animal. In these respects, the present version of the invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus that substantially fulfills this need. Additionally, the prior patents and commercial techniques do not suggest the present inventive combination of component elements arranged and configured as disclosed herein.
The present invention achieves its intended purposes, objects, and advantages through a new, useful and unobvious combination of method steps and component elements, with the use of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, and by employing only readily available materials.